About me.
I didn't plan this career. I followed a thread.
It started at James Madison University in a health behavior change course. Somewhere between learning why people do what they do and loving communications coursework things suddenly made sense. The overlap was obvious to me. If you want people to do anything, you first have to make sure they understand. And in healthcare, that gap between what's happening and what people actually understand about it is enormous.
I've been chasing that gap ever since.
My path took me from local to state to federal…and then as granular as you can get.
I spent years building public health campaigns, writing policy communications, earning national recognition for digital advocacy work, and helping federal agencies translate complex health information for the public. I worked in every level of the system and saw the same problem show up everywhere. Important work, unclear communication, and missed impact.
I went to nursing school.
I wanted to understand healthcare from the inside. Not just the policy layer, but the human layer. Bedside, I used everything I'd built as a knowledge worker to connect with patients quickly. Building trust through authentic communication in those moments showed me the power of this work in its most immediate, visceral form. It was exhausting and exhilarating. I wouldn't trade it.
Now I bring all of it to the table. Federal campaign experience, policy fluency, clinical insight, and a deeply human understanding of what it means to receive health information when something is at stake.
My Philosophy.
I believe good communication can be taught.
You're not born knowing how to reach people, but curiosity, self-awareness, and genuine interest in human behavior get you most of the way there. I've spent my career in board rooms, coalition meetings, cross-functional collaborations, academic immersion as an adult, and hospital hallways at 3am. Every environment taught me something different about how people receive information, what builds trust, and what makes someone finally get it.
That lightbulb moment, when something complicated suddenly lands, when it’s useful? That’s what I'm always building toward. It never gets old.
Communication is never finished. It can always be better. What a motivator.
A little more Julia.
Since you asked.
I read behavior science books for fun, which tells you almost everything you need to know. I take the occasional roller-skating lap around the neighborhood, and I will choose scripted television over reality every single time. I like imagination. I like the idea that things don’t have to be limited to what already exists.
I have strong opinions about mountain treelines, windows-down drives, and the underrated versatility of a Nutella snack pack. My vinyl collection is mostly female pop (Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Gracie Abrams) but thanks to my parents, I’ve got some range with Talking Heads, Johnny Cash, and Vince Guaraldi.
INFJ. Pisces. Enneagram 3. I get people. I believe in people. You can blame Rousseau for that.
I'd love to hear about your work.
Not every conversation becomes a project and that's genuinely okay. I don't think our healthcare system is doomed, and I believe the people working inside it deserve a communications partner who feels the same way.